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Seahorses doing the wild thing!
Topic Started: Jun 8 2010, 10:01:39 PM (177 Views)
Post #1 Jun 8 2010, 10:01:39 PM	Suzy
I cannot believe how active my fish were yesterday. But, I still need to edit this. Here is a quickly made movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3htdlYbWXc	Seahorse Whisperer Posts: 3,047 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: June 28, 2008
"i was informed of some dolphin related testing going on up there" Too Funny!
Post #2 Jun 20 2010, 08:08:20 AM	Suzy
Sweet! I was right! They were finally ready to spawn! She had her way with one of 'em! I cannot tell which of two possible males. I could yesterday. He was very big in the belly! But, there are a few damsels I added to this tank to eat flatworms. So I was only able to recover about a dozen fry. I do see the female and one of the males already getting ready for another coupling so I will get the damsels out this week. I do want to start experimenting with these fry to see if I can find a way to strengthen their immune systems and get stronger fish in the long run. I have the dozen fry in a nursery now. I am going to try just my strongest thinking to this batch. They are now in a closed glass kreisal bowl, inside a 20 l tank. This is just to keep the temp stable. My thinking is to keep a stable density of only cold water pods ( hopefully some will have already been gravid and will spawn ) and rots gut loaded with iso and pav pastes for 4 days. I am going to add live tetraselmis daily, or twice daily if needed. Then, after 4 days, I am going to divide the fry remaining in 2 groups. One in a closed nursery, one in a flow through. Rationale: Most people , including me thus far, use artemia to raise these fry. I had a freak batch born in April just before we were leaving town for 5 days. I knew I couldn't do the usual hatch artemia twice a day, and then add them every few hours. So, I put them in a glass bowl, added some rots and pods and then went to Vegas for an early spring adventure. When we came back, only 2 out of a dozen or so were left. But, now, these two look really good! They already have markings, strong and healthily chasing amphopods. I really think if a H erectus fry can be raised on pods alone, they will be almost as strong as their wc cousins. We'll see....	Seahorse Whisperer Posts: 3,047 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: June 28, 2008
"i was informed of some dolphin related testing going on up there" Too Funny!
Post #3 Jun 21 2010, 08:06:38 PM	Amie
I'm guessing that the ones in the isolated tank will do better than the flow-through. There just too many things in our reef tanks that can eat their food or get them sick before they are strong enough to handle it. Keep us posted.	stormy, stormy nights Posts: 2,362 Group: Admin Member #4 Joined: June 29, 2008
http://www.spawar.navy.mil/sandiego/technology/mammals/interns.html Tell them Adam sent you.
Post #4 Jun 22 2010, 06:43:32 AM	Suzy
I will. There are pros and cons to both ways. The flow through type nursery will keep the water cycled, a larger volume and stable. Plus, it is much easier to take care of with no water changes. With my life, I never know what is going to come up! Daily water changes as the fry grow is really hard for me. But, with an addition of live phyto, maybe the ammonia will not be an issue. Plus, is there a point where I want the live food (if it is artemia) to leave the kriesal? Won't it lose it's nutritional value after a few hours? The other thought is teaching these tiny things to eat frozen. It really is a bit complicated to get them to eat frozen food, and adding it then sucking it out a bit later is really time consuming.	Seahorse Whisperer Posts: 3,047 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: June 28, 2008
"i was informed of some dolphin related testing going on up there" Too Funny!
Post #5 Jun 25 2010, 11:50:21 PM	Amie
you should definitely add phyto in the closed system, that will feed the rotifers and/or brine shrimp so they stay nutritious. It does make sense to have them on a flow through once you start feeding them frozen though.	stormy, stormy nights Posts: 2,362 Group: Admin Member #4 Joined: June 29, 2008
http://www.spawar.navy.mil/sandiego/technology/mammals/interns.html Tell them Adam sent you.
Post #6 Jun 26 2010, 06:38:12 AM	Suzy
Well, crap. That did not work. I added a bit of paste yesterday, maybe too much, then went out all day. They all died.....I was not changing the water enough. Dang it. New plan: Next batch (if I am lucky enough to get one) I am going to put them in a flow through system but not add the tube to constantly let water flow through until they get to frozen food training age. Then, every day I can add water from the tank to flush out any ammonia very easily. I hope I get more!	Seahorse Whisperer Posts: 3,047 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: June 28, 2008
"i was informed of some dolphin related testing going on up there" Too Funny!
Post #7 Jun 26 2010, 04:25:08 PM	Suzy
Here is one of the 2 from the first batch. He?she?it? has been raised on pods only! I feel really good about him/her/it and the other sibling. I am going to name them Barack Obama. Now that they are getting markings I can tell them apart. Barack is a bit more colorful, with an orangish belly, while Obama is a bit smaller. Male and female? I'll see! Posted Image	Seahorse Whisperer Posts: 3,047 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: June 28, 2008
"i was informed of some dolphin related testing going on up there" Too Funny!
Post #8 Jun 29 2010, 07:19:17 PM	Amie
So cute! I think your flowthrough idea is a good one. You definitely have to be careful if you are adding paste, as you know. Do you have aeration going in the tank? You might want to bump it up a bit when you are adding the paste as well.	stormy, stormy nights Posts: 2,362 Group: Admin Member #4 Joined: June 29, 2008
http://www.spawar.navy.mil/sandiego/technology/mammals/interns.html Tell them Adam sent you.
Post #9 Jun 30 2010, 05:54:46 AM	Suzy
I do have air flow, dang it! But, the next batch I should have quite a few of the smaller pods, and maybe some daphnia. I really want to find something besides artemia to feed them.	Seahorse Whisperer Posts: 3,047 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: June 28, 2008
"i was informed of some dolphin related testing going on up there" Too Funny!
Post #10 Jul 11 2010, 08:25:54 AM	Suzy
Ok, the last batch is doing really well. These are the ones that were born in the hospital tank. I had seperated them into 2 groups, which are now combined. All have been fed only my new warm water pods. Very few losses so far!	Seahorse Whisperer Posts: 3,047 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: June 28, 2008
"i was informed of some dolphin related testing going on up there" Too Funny!
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